Pope Francis urges peace and understanding for migrants

Pope Francis speaks during an interreligious meeting in Dhaka on December 1, 2017.<br />Pope Francis arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar on November 30 for the second stage of a visit that has been overshadowed by the plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees. / AFP PHOTO / MUNIR UZ ZAMAN

Pope Francis on Monday used his New Year homily to urge peace and understanding for migrants and refugees.

“Let us not extinguish hope in their hearts or smother their expectations of peace,” the leader of the world’s estimated 1.2 billion Catholics said, marking the Church’s World Day of Peace before millions of worshippers braving a rainswept Saint Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

Taking up the theme of the ongoing migrant crisis, the pontiff said they were “ready to risk their lives in their search for a peaceful future “which is a right for everyone” and which everyone should strive to ensure for all.